


Out, Out, Damned Spot!

by stardust_in_the_wind



Category: Rushmore (1998)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Max works sound and Margaret works lights, One Shot, References to Macbeth, Theater AU, but that's just how it is when you're a theater kid, they're both super extra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:42:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27444328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardust_in_the_wind/pseuds/stardust_in_the_wind
Summary: “What are you doing?” Max demanded. Margaret just grinned, looking a touch too manic, and pressed another button. “Oh my God, no, that’s not what we agreed on!” Onstage, the red spotlight swirled crazily around on the backdrop. “Margaret, stop!”
Relationships: Max Fischer/Margaret Yang
Kudos: 4





	Out, Out, Damned Spot!

**Author's Note:**

> i've never worked lights or sound and did no research for this i'm so sorry  
> eva if you're reading this,,,, i wrote this lowkey because i gave up on the mouis but also because,,, margaret yang

“What are you doing?” Max demanded. Margaret just grinned, looking a touch too manic, and pressed another button. “Oh my God, no, that’s not what we agreed on!” Onstage, the red spotlight swirled crazily around on the backdrop. “Margaret, stop!”

“Out, out, damned spot!” sobbed Lady Macbeth. “Out, I say!” She was absolutely wonderful. Just as Max knew she would be when he’d helped cast her. The scene would have been perfect, if not for Margaret going  _ completely off book with the lighting. _ Max wanted to throw up, and not just because the light’s jerky swoops were practically nausea-inducing. 

Margaret completely ignored Max’s distressed noises as she extravagantly pressed even more buttons. She’d known he would be horrified by her changing the plan. What she hadn’t expected was for him to go completely silent halfway through the scene instead of continuing to scold her. Probably mentally writing a colorful monologue of his own to yell at her after the show. 

“Here's the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh!” Lady Macbeth collapsed to her knees, and the spotlight dived down with her.

Max mechanically made changes to the soundboard, exactly the ones they’d planned. There wasn’t much to do in the middle of a scene, leaving him free to watch the madness onstage. 

Madness.

Madness!

Maybe Margaret knew exactly what she was doing. 

“What's done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed!” Lady Macbeth cried as she exited, and the red light was suddenly extinguished. 

Margaret would be lying if she said she wasn’t a little nervous after pulling something like that. The anxiety wormed quietly at the back of her mind, but she made it through the rest of the final act without showing it. Finally, finally, the actors made their bows and thank-yous, the audience applauded thunderously, the curtain closed, and the play was over. 

“That went well,” Margaret said nonchalantly, turning off the lighting board.

“Did it?” Max asked. 

“Yeah, I mean, the audience seemed to like it, right?”

“I guess so.”

Margaret turned away from her equipment. “I know you want to yell at me, Max, you can stop pretending you don’t.”

“No, no, I really don’t,” Max said. “I mean, it would’ve been  _ better  _ if you told me about this beforehand, but…”

“But what?”

“It was genius!” he exclaimed. 

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, the way it moved, like,” Max waved his hands around wildly. “It really added to the whole scene, using the light to mirror Lady Macbeth going crazy. And the audience loved it!”

“They really did, huh,” Margaret mused. “You know, I came up with that about ten seconds before I actually did it.”

Max winced. “Yeah, next time could you give me some warning before you…” he motioned towards the lighting board. 

Margaret laughed. “Will do.”

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked this! let me know your thoughts in the comments.  
> [hi](https://no-plot-just-vibes.tumblr.com/)


End file.
